Updated 04-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about MICHAEL LANDON!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: Michael Landon (born Eugene Maurice Orowitz; October 31, 1936 – July 1, 1991) was an American actor, writer, director, and producer . he is known for his roles as Little Joe Cartwright in in 1941, when Landon was four, he and his family moved to the Philadelphia suburb of Collingswood, new jersey . he attended and celebrated his bar mitzvah at Temple Beth Shalom . on a family beach vacation his mother tried to drown herself, but Michael rescued her . his mother acted as if nothing happened and a few minutes later, Michael vomited . stress overload from the suicide attempts of Landon attended Collingswood high school and was an excellent javelin thrower . his 193 ft 4 in (58.93 m) toss in 1954 was the longest throw by a high school film roles include I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), Maracaibo (1958), and The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959) he also appeared in at least 2 episodes of Dick Powell’s in 1962, both the A- and B-side of the record were re-released on the Fono-Graf label . some copies show the artist credited as the “Teenage Werewolf” in 1964, RCA Victor Records released another Landon single, “Linda Is Lonesome”/”Without You” all of Landon’s singles have since been issued on compact disc by Bear Family Records Landon wrote his first script in 1962; in 1968, he directed his first episode . in 1993, TV Guide listed Little Joe’s 1972 two-hour wedding episode (“Forever”) as one of its most memorable specials Landon appeared in all 14 seasons of the series . he was loyal to many of his Bonanza associates . the show was taken from a 1935 book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder . Landon served as executive producer, writer, and director of Little House . the show became Landon’s second-longest running series . it was retooled by NBC in 1982 as Little House: A New the series ended in 1983 . the following year, three made-for-television movies aired . in Highway to Heaven, he played a probationary angel whose job was to help people . his co-star on the show was Victor French as ex-cop Mark Gordon . in a 2015 interview, Gilbert said of Landon was executive producer, writer, and director of Highway to Heaven . he also brought real-life cancer patients and disabled people to the set . by season four, Highway dropped out of the Nielsen top 30 . co-star french would not live to see Highway’s series finale make it to air . he died of advanced lung cancer on June 15, 1989 . in 1982, he co-produced an NBC “true story” Sam’s Son is a 1984 coming-of-age feature film written and directed by Landon . the film stars Timothy Patrick Murphy, Eli Wallach, Anne Jackson, Hallie Todd, and James Karen . Karen previously Landon’s television programs were broadcast on NBC . he moved to CBS and in 1991 starred in a two-hour pilot called Us . his diagnosis on pancreatic cancer prevented the show from aired beyond Dodie Levy-Fraser, born 1948 (adopted; Dodie’s biological son), died 2009 Josh Fraser Landon, born 1960 . Marjorie Lynn Noe (married 1963; divorced 1982 in 1959, Landon’s father succumbed to a heart attack . in 1973, his eldest daughter, Cheryl, was involved in a serious car collision . she was hospitalized with serious injuries and Landon’s mother, peggy, died in march 1981. he admitted to being a chain smoker and heavy drinker . on may 9, 1991, he appeared on the Tonight show starring Johnny Carson to speak about the he appeared on the cover of life magazine after surgery for a blood clot in his leg . he was interred in a private family mausoleum at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, in Culver City the remains of his son, Mark, were also interred there upon his death in May 2009 . Landon’s son, Michael Jr., produced a memorial special called Michael Landon: Memories with Laughter and Love a made-for-TV movie, Michael Landon, the Father I Knew, aired on CBS in may 1999 . the father-of-two co-wrote and directed by his son Michael Jr., the movie spanned a timeline from the 1960s through the early 1990s . a plaque and small playground referred to as the “Little Treehouse on the Prairie” were erected . in 2011, plaque was removed during a fall cleanup . plaque was reinstated next to a bench in a safer location the following summer .